Stocks Barely Budge to Wrap Dismal Week

All three major U.S. equity averages lose more than 2% for the week as the early returns on third-quarter earnings season prove discouraging.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- The major U.S. equity averages closed out a dismal week with a mixed finish on Friday as results from a pair of big banks added to investor anxiety about earnings season.

Spain was also a lingering issue for the market as questions continued to swirl about if and when the country may request bailout funds. A jump in consumer sentiment drove early gains but the market had little staying power and gold was a big loser.

Both JPMorgan Chase ( JPM) and Wells Fargo ( WFC) were unable to get any traction from their generally strong numbers. JPMorgan handily beat Wall Street's profit view but net interest margins dipped, while Wells Fargo edged the consensus earnings estimate by a penny but fell short on the top line.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 2 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 13,329. The blue-chip index ranged roughly 105 points on the day, running as high as 13,401 and as low as 13,296. For the week, the Dow fell 2.1% but it remains up 9.1% so far in 2012.

Losers were ahead of winners within the Dow, 18 to 11 with Pfizer ( PFE) finishing flat.

The S&P 500 lost more than 4 points, or 0.30%, to finish at 1428.59, while the Nasdaq was off more than 5 points, or 0.17%, to settle at 3044.

The S&P 500, which has fallen in five of last six sessions, slid 2.2% for the week and is now up 13.6% for the year. The Nasdaq, whose losing streak is up to six days, sank 2.9% this week and is now up 16.9% in 2012.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by close to a 2-to-1 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.5-to-1 on the Nasdaq. Volume totaled 3.14 billion on the Big Board and 1.52 billion on the Nasdaq.